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Delightfully Ridiculous

Irrational Fear

It was at a work party just before Christmas last year when a girl I know was telling me about how had just bought an apartment – her first home.
All of a sudden buying a house seemed a lot less terrifying. I mean, buying an apartment seemed a lot less terrifying.

It also made sense, economically, we’d pay a wee bit more in mortgage than in rent but we’d be able to pay off a debt which in turn would allow us to save more on a monthly basis than we had been. So if we do decide to go travelling again, to move overseas, there’ll be some money with which to buy flights and, you know, live on.

Just like that Craig and I spent the next few months heading from open home to open home.
Last week we went unconditional on a wee art-deco flat in Wellington. If everything goes to plan the settlement date is less than two weeks away and just a couple of days after that? Craig and I will be living in our own (gulp) home.

Don’t worry. There are still no babies on the horizon. Fingers crossed.

Last night Craig and I were watching Grey’s Anatomy (oh how I love it) when an ad came on that featured a girl (and then a boy) being terrorised by a moth.Craig : oh come on! It’s just a mothSarah : Just a Moth? JUST A MOTH? They’re flying rats with wings! Gah.Craig : but … it’s just a moth…Sarah : no they divebomb and they’re furry and gah the huge ones ughhhhCraig : Huge ones? They’re tinySarah : Uh, have you seen the ones as big as your, well, my hand? HAVE YOU?Craig : ha! As big as your hand??Sarah : … yes!Craig : no … really?Sarah : … YES! As BIG as MY HAND. I’ve seen them twice and the first time I freaked out shaking for 45 minutes before crying and the next time it kept me from the kitchen because I could see it on the chair and it looked like it was breathing and they’re so awfulCraig : huh. Sarah : I’m going to google “Giant Terror Moths” tomorrow and prove it.

But “Giant Terror Moths” only brought back reviews of Blood Beast Terror, a 1969 movie about a creature that is capable of transforming back and forth between a giant Death Head moth and a beautiful woman. The creature masquerades as his daughter when she is in her human incarnation and feeds on the blood of her victims when she is in the moth form. which sounds really fucking scary but not exactly real, or native to New Zealand (I hope).

Puriri mothAenetus virescensOf the more than 1500 different moths in New Zealand, the biggest and most spectacular is the puriri or ghost moth of the North Island. The female’s wingspan can be up to 15-centimetres, its pale velvety-green colour very ghost-like.

A GIANT MOTH also known as the GHOST MOTH ?? I think my fear is justified.Also – wing span = 15cm? Sarah’s hand span = 16cm. So it is Definitely AS BIG AS MY HAND.

It’s no better when the wings are furled around its fat furry creepy moth body.

Apparently all these years Craig has thought my fear of moths (the same fear that has brought me to tears at times) is based on

The Silver Y moth Chrysodeixis eriosomaWing span = 36 mm

He has no faith in me at all.

Sarah : So wait, all this time you’ve thought my fear of moths stemmed from those tiny furry Kauri* moths?Craig : Well, you’ve been known to think some crazy things.

* Please note : Googling for Kauri Moths bore no fruit (so to speak) and so I had to wade through photo after photo of horrifying furry moths until I guessed at something that looked familiar. I now have extremely tense arms because moths tend to make my arms twitch in disgust (the fear is in my head and my stomach).The things I do for you, I swear.